Heated
by writinginmemory
Summary: A hook up that went nowhere makes for an awkward mission
1. Chapter 1

_trying to chase the muse again; here's an idea i've been kicking around. Keep writing, yes/no?_

 ** _Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad._**

 ** _-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_**

"Sergaent Cage," the general reached over his desk and shook her hand in greeting." Thank you for getting here so promptly. Please have a seat. How's the general like her retirement?"

Cass fought back the impulse to snort. "Enjoying it fine, sir." It seemed a more diplomatic answer than 'You mean when she's not banging Dad like a screendoor on the reg?'

"Good. Now our business here..." the older man pushed a small manilla folder towards her. "Standard recon for your team. We have intel that the Black Dragon are moving arms again. Big time stuff. Nukes."

Even for that group, nuclear weapons were a big game. Cass let out a low whistle and leafed open through the pages.

"Exactly. We need surveillance, find out who they're dealing to this time. Our concern is with Kano dead and Jakob now running the show, it might be a powerplay. Assert his position and all that."

That one, Cass understood, the whole parental footsteps and all. Looks like Jakob wanted to impress his way outta daddy's shadow.

"In there, you'll find coordinates for your Netherrealm rendevzous." he gestured at the papers. "Also, your designated contacts. It is imperative that you maintain communication with base at regular intervals. Furthermore, and I cannot stress this enough, at no time do we want you to engage with the Black Dragons. This is a fact finding mission only, Sergaent Cage. Once we understand their intentions, I will personally decide the course of action to follow."

"Understood, General." All ready making plans and phone calls in her head, the younger blonde woman pushed back her chair to stand.

" Excellent. Your Lin Keui liasion will be Grandmaster Liang."

My what the what now? Aw, hell no. "The Lin Keui are involved in this mission? Sir, is that necessary?"

"They are our allies and have scouted the Netherrealm for years. It would be foolish not to avail ourselves of their assistance." With hands steepled, the general leaned back in his seat. For a second, a hint of challenge made his light eyes stand out against his dark skin. "Unless you are unwilling to cooperate with protocol, Sergaent?

Ouch. Ok, she had that coming. Never question a superior officer when taking orders. That lesson was the first thing they hit you with in bootcamp. Cass cleared her throat. "Not at all, sir. I will assemble my team and brief them now. "

"That will be all, Sergaent."

From one high to a new low. Cass fumbled her way out of Administrative and made her way to her car. People around the base called out her name in greeting but she was too dazed, could only nod, not really seeing them.

Hey Cass, what's wrong, she mimicked a conversation in her head. Oh nothing, just got news I'm stuck working with Hit it and Quit it Frosty the Snowdick. Yikes. So maybe that wasn't fair. The hit it part happened, the quit it was a big looming question mark. After that whole Shinnok battle, she'd been feeling like a fucking rockstar. All that adrenaline and no outlet..until she'd come across Kuai and ...

They'd just sort of ...exploded on each other. One night of something intense and... just.. there weren't words. It was some next level sex. He crawled through her body like he owned it.

And then...nothing. Not even an awkward morning after. Grandmaster Kuai, formidable warrior and Lin Kuei leader up and disappeared. That's what pissed her off. He didn't want anything serious? Cool. She was a big girl. Could have said that to her but whatever...

Anyway, she was a professional and she had a mission. This girly feely stuff was for off duty hours. After a quick text to Jacqui, she shelved the introspection and began planning work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Next few chapters will be longer. Just wanted to get something up and keep myself motivated. Thank you for the kind comments! I rarely get any reviews so they mean a lot.**

* * *

"Sarge." Takeda acknowledged, joining Cassie and Kung Jin outside the refugee camp. Next to him, was Jacqui. Cassie nodded, looking over at her bestie in askance. There was a palpable tension between the couple and a good 4 feet between them.

"Hey girlfriend." Jacqui's tone and eyes conveyed a silent message. _We'll talk later._

Right. "Get in here, was 'bout to brief Jin on the objectives." Two taps on her wrist communicator and small blue hologram flickered into the dark air. " Meet Jakob, de facto leader of the Black Dragons and a shoe in for this year's homecoming queen. Our boy here is dealing some nukes. We're heading out today to observe him, see if we can determine who is selling to. "

The blue wavered lighting up Jin's face. "And the weapons?"

"Hands off. We don't engage. If we see 'em, take note of how many they're transporting. Even better if we can determine where he's getting them. There's a lot of rogue dealers in the Middle East..." her voice trailed off. A swipe of the opposite hand swept away Jakob's face and brought up a map outlining a coastal village. "Today's field trip includes watching Jakob, figuring out his Netherrealm connections, and then getting our asses back and letting the higher ups decide objectives." Her index finger trailed a path then tapped her wrist, closing the projection.

"Start in the forest, creep up to the coastline?" Jacqui guessed. Another Army brat, she knew the drill. Stick to low ground with high cover and move in from behind. But hey, it worked, which is why it was military protocol since forever.

" That's the plan. Hank, " Cass jerked her thumb back to the technician hovering over the machinery behind her. He raised his hand without looking back. "is gonna get us a portal here."

"Ok, so who's our Netherrealm guide?" Takeda interrupted. "That's a pretty big expanse of uncharted terrain from our point A to point B."

Ugh. Truth. The extent of Special Forces' surveyance was kind of like, 'sort of something over here - ish'. Vague generalities. This was the intro for announcing the Lin Kuei were tagging along. Both men straightened at the same time a bead of cold crept down her neck and settled between her shoulder blades. Any crazy hope for a reprieve just went AWOL.

Welp. They were really gonna do this.

"SubZero." Takeda announced.

"Grandmaster," Jin inclined his head. "You honor us." Omg, what an asskisser. Cass stole a look at Jacqui and rolled her eyes. Her friend fought back a smile. Mancrushing Jin would never not be hilarious.

" I am accompanying you today at the request of Special Forces. Has Sgt. Cage apprised you of our objectives?" Despite the compulsion in his raspy voice, the hint of 'acknowledge me' when he used her name, Cass kept her gaze forward. She could feel his pale eyes moving over her, as discernible as a physical touch. Anger spiked for a moment from this weird reminder of their chemistry.

Sure, fine. Now he wanted to look at her. Maybe when this was over, she'd punch him in the balls. Nothing went quite so far towards making a girl feel better as seeing the look on a dude's face when you tagged them in crotch. "Guys, Grandmaster Liang is our liason. Hank, we doing this or what?"

"Opening it now" the technician shouted. "Pain in the ass like her mother," he muttered just loud enough to be heard.


	3. Chapter 3

**M for language and incoming adult stuff in the next few chapters. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

Stepping through a portal reminded Cass of an elevator; there's that moment when the car stops and your stomach still feels suspended mid air, barely perceptible until your body comes to stop a breath of a second later. Not disorienting exactly...but weird. Uneasy.

Snow and ice gleamed around them, making the terrain much more visible. Still...something wasn't...right. Behind her, Jin and Jacqui, arguing over who was carrying the communications ruck. Takeda said nothing; his jaw clenched.

 _You feel it, too?_ Cass asked. Telepathy wasn't in her skill set but she knew Takeda could pick up things if you directed it at him. He nodded.

"Cassandra." Kuai touched her shoulder. "There is a bad energy here. It does not bode well for us." Full first name. Shit must be serious.

Time to flex that leadership skill. Doing the General proud today. "Takeda is picking up on it. What are the options on an alternate route?"

"If we leave to the north, we will pass through several villages but I can direct us to the harbor. It will not be as treacherous as the forest but it will have far greater visibility." Speaking low to keep the discussion between them hadn't worked. Both Jacqui and Jin were silent,aware that something was going on.

Being seen was an issue since they didn't know who all the players were; did the Black Dragons have contacts in any of the little towns? Lui Kang and Kitana ruled now but there was no official treaty and they were basically launching a covert operation on their turf without a head's up or royal consent. Under normal circumstances, maybe no big... but since their allies went 'dark' ...

"Hey uh, Cass? Why the whispers? " the other woman asked.

"Change of plan. We're re routing." Cass looked back and Kaui who was scanning the trees with a grim expression. "After you, Grandmaster."

* * *

" Head's up, Sarge. " Takeda pointed to his wrist. "About time we phone home?"

Unplanned detour not withstanding, the team was on schedule and they had orders-routine reports back to base. After passing through arid fields for the last couple hours, every one needed a break and provisions anyway. Now was as good a time as any.

" Calling it for 10. " Cass dumped the ruck at her feet. 'Coffee break, guys, while I send Earthrealm our love." Much of the trek, Kuai said nothing but kept close to her side. Even now, he was standing over her while she charged up the transmitter. Not that he was much a talker anyway...part of Cass conceded that while he still deffo needed that punch to the groin, for now, she was glad he was here. Everything felt off and, if shit went down, they'd need the extra muscle.

One red button flickered, indicating the battery was on. A second flash and then nothing. Cass tapped it against her hand. Dead battery? Not even. This gear was checked and re checked. No military brat ever forgot that lesson. Calmly, the blond woman pulled out the second battery and tried that. No lights.

The fuck?

"Cassandra?" Kaui knelt down with her.

"Sec." There was still the emergency transmitter. It operated like a smaller portal opener and therefore was always a last ditch effort since it emitted a huge wave of energy that could be detected.

No one would be detecting them. Cass flung the device down. Not working either. "This is bullshit. Everything was inspected and working as of 20 minutes before you showed up." Lovely. Nothing better than looking inept in front your own team.

"I believe you. We must discuss something immediately, away from the others."

The younger sergeant picked up one of the discarded communicators and held it to her ear. "No use freaking them out yet. Walk with me." Turning back to her friends, she signalled a thumbs up then gestured for the Lin Kuei leader to follow her. "Someone tampered with my ruck. I'm positive."

His large body fell into step beside her. "I am inclined to believe you are right. What is happening now cannot be coincidence. Back in the forest, I sensed other Lin Kuei. Now, you are isolated from your base. "

Give him points, they were on the same page. Shame this wasn't a cop buddy movie, they'd be finishing each other's sentences soon. "I remember thinking it was really random to have you sent with us." Of course then she was just too pissed and embarrassed to look passed that... now, it screamed set up. How weird to go from hating Liang and dreading having him with them to this. It was hard to be angry at the guy when he was apparently thrown under the bus with them. Why, though?

What the hell was going on? Such an weird intimate look passed between them. Uncomfortable, Cass averted her gaze to her boots. Very softly, "I need to think. Gimme a few."

* * *

"Piping hot new orders, fresh from base." Cass strolled back to where the other four stood. Jacqui sat on the ground cross legged sipping from her canteen. Jin was attempting to engage the older warrior in conversation and Takeda paced covertly watching his girlfriend. _Hmm._

Takahashi was her worry; keeping her smile casual and thoughts calm in case he tried reading her...

Panicking them was not her aim. All she knew right now was someone likely wanted them in Netherrealm -isolated, barely armed and with limited resources-so she wanted to get them back to Earthrealm and out of the frying pan. Forget the nukes and the harbor, a good hunch said they probably weren't supposed to have made it out of the forest.

"What's up?" Takeda demanded.

"Didn't say. Some new intel, said to get our asses back ASAP." From the corner of her eye, she knew Kaui was staring at her. She only hoped he picked up her cue. "Grandmaster, you know this area? Any chance of a rogue displacer?" Special Forces had the technology to open a walkway to other realms. Here, with no such equipment, your best chance was catching a displacer, the slang for a kinetic psychic who could open rifts.

He didn't answer and for a moment, she thought he was going to say something that would expedite that punch. Instead, he inclined his head . "There are a few, though they are difficult to locate."

"Wait, our people aren't getting us home?" Ugh. Shut the fuck up, Takeda.

"There's a problem." Yea, she hated lying. But there was no sense in explaining her suspicion until they were on safer ground. "We're on our own for a bit." Kung Jin was not good with pressure and could be a fuckhead even to his friends, and the younger Shirai Ryu had no chill about starting a fight that would blow their cover. Jacqui would...eh, she'd be ok probably. Homegirl had some sense.

Case in point, her friend's eyebrow was raised. _I smell bullshit, Cassie_. But she stayed quiet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for reading. I will try to have another chapter up this week, if work permits.**

* * *

One eyebrow arched up over her sunglasses as she watched the boy keep glancing back across the marketplace towards her. 'Boy' might not the most accurate term; he looked around 15 or 16. Hard to tell in this place. But she knew what he was thinking. "EARTH GIRLS ZOMG."

Life in this realm was just...ugh; the women, for instance. Most female Netherrealm inhabitants dressed like they were late for a shift at the Kitty Kat Lounge, but the social norms were straight up Victorian. Lady realmers had weird notions of modesty and leaving the lower half of your face uncovered was down right scandalous in a rural type of town like this.

Nevermind that she and Jacqui were dressed in standard issue with full body coverage; that bare jawline was the equivalent of a Mardi Gras flash.

Cass adjusted the zipper at her collar, dragging it down baaarely enough to give that first hint of the twins. "Guys, stay here. Jacqui and I can do this." Finding a displacer was turning out to be a dead end. Villagers were nervous even being asked. It wasn't a new phenomenon; having a skill like that historically brought the owner bad luck. If you were lucky, you ended up the personal servant of some benevolent monarch. Not so lucky, a dark army kidnapped you and forced you into servitude. Some made good on their lot, Quan Chi pulled himself up to some power of sorts but still...

"Ohhh. Side quest." Jacqui winked over her shoulder at their companions. "Don't wait up, boys."

"Sergaent?" Kaui called after her. No point even acknowledging him. This was the last good hope she had at the moment.

"So here's the plan, Briggs. We got an admirer checking us out. I say we hit him up and ask some questions."

"What if he knows nothing?"

"Someone knows something. There's always a black market or people with connections. " Kind of like L.A. really.

The younger woman grunted. "I don't get this. If Kang and Kitana are ruling, there should be no need for psychics to be hiding in fear." Nailed it. This is usually what happened when an asshole was calling the shots and rifting was a hot commodity. Or a possible weapon.

"Game face on, Briggs." Their target stood alongside some dilapidated market stand where an older woman was stacking fruit. Eyes wide with a mix of fear and appreciation darted between the two women. "Sup, kid. "

"My friend and I need some help." Classic Jacqui, friendly but to the point.

"You've come from Earthrealm?" Ew. Yea, this one was young; red faced and voice cracking every other word. Plus the whole glancing down at her open neckline twice in 10 seconds.

Look your fill, junior, probably the last you'll be seeing for awhile. Cass crossed her arms under her chest and leaned closer. "Yep. And we're looking to get back there. Know any body who can make that happen?"

"I-i might.." a bright red flush stained his face and he didn't even bother to disguise his staring lower. Repressed cultures, what could you do?

"Can you take us-" Jacqui stopped midsentence because the kid's face started to slowly mottle purple as a blue grey dusting of frost climbed up his roughhewn clothing. "What the ever loving hell?" Lips shaking with cold and ice crystal coated over his eyebrows and along his hairline.

Really? Her teeth grinding now, Cass swiveled around. Sure enough, Laing was stalking towards them. "Get your ass back with the others, Grandmaster. You are not needed here."

Nothing doing. And he appeared as teed off and she was. "To what purpose do you entice this boy?"

"Uhhh, entice?" Jacqui's head whipped back and forth between her sergaent and the Lin Kuei. "Grandmaster, with all due respec-"

But her blond friend held up her hand never breaking stares with the warrior. " I am procuring information needed. Handing out orders or displaying a show of force is unnecessary. Your little chest thumping bullshit is an act of hostility to an a unarmed civilian." And hardly a threat, either. A damned kid. Reminding him of protocol was his only warning. She was not in the mood today.

"And your choice to display yourself as such" he gestured to her neckline . "will bring us undo attention."

"Ohhhhhh shit." Now it was Jacqui spinning on her boots, turning away from a conversation fast getting out of hand. Growing up with Cassie, she knew there were places you simply did not go with Ms. Cage. Kaui did not get that memo.

Undermining her authority and going for the personal insult? Fuck that and fuck him. She pushed herself forward, closer into his space. Better make sure he knew that she wasn't going to be strong armed. "Your purpose is to guide and advise on terrain. Step off and let me handle this."

"You persist in being unreasonable. Cover yourself " he growled back.

Orders from other personnel? Cool. Doing her job entailed doing as told-by other military. Orders from this shithead wasn't gonna fly. Cass blew a bubble with her gum while her index finger hooked the zipper and pulled it down an inch or so more. Who's asking for attention now, Frosty?

Someone behind them cackled. "Good for you, earther. " The mild mannered looking granny lady shook her head. "My first husband tried pulling me around much the same. Stabbed him the gullet for his trouble."

Jacqui was watching the kid, shivering but not immobile. Other than the frost dotting along his skin, he seemed ok now. "I'm sorry about...your...son? Grandson? Our friend mistook him for a threat."

Her gnarled hand waved away the concern. "No kin of mine. That's Blanche's idiot boy. Serves him right, it does. He's supposed to be watching out for the imperial army, not chatting with women."

Pretty much laying it out there that things were not well around these parts. Country folk standing guard for their own ruler's troops. Cass reached out and grabbed Jacqui's arm, lightly shaking her head. They didn't have time for the questions both wanted to ask.

"It's a portal you need, did I hear?" She shrewdly eyed the women's apparel. "Mighty expensive way to travel."

That's more like it ! Cass nodded. "We can pay. No worries."

"Good. Follow now where I lead you. My home is safer place to chatter." In true granny form, she pulled her shawl tightly around her. "Jamis, " the still chilled boy turned his head her way, "Watch my fruit. Go nowhere until I am back." To Cass and Jacqui, she inclined her head. "This way. Only you girls. That idiot man can stay there."


	5. Chapter 5

Cue the sitcom laugh track. That's the only route this mess was going. Cass sighed and tried to smile at there inter-realm transportation - somebody's tiny greeting card looking granny.

"Mother was so powerful, Shang Tsung himself sought her out. But we've kept her hidden." The marketplace woman, Annouse, boasted. Hidden was an understatement. Grams was nearly buried alive, tucked in the back of this dark, burrowed out home.

"Hi?" Jacqui sounding as dazed as Cass was feeling. The little crab apple face grinned toothlessly from under swaths of fabrics covering her hair.

Why was she even trying to plan any more? There was no way such a frail little person was gonna have the strength to pull open a rift and then displace the weight of all of them. Leading a team meant she was responsible for their safety and the top priority was getting asses home. Doing the math in head, that was Jacqui, Tak and Jin-and that gonna be a stretch. Kuai was a Lin Kuei warrior, he would insist on getting the younger members out and he was best prepared to deal with Netherrealm. Dude knew the areas and could fight.

"Cass, all of us? She can't." Jacqui shrugged.

"How many are we speaking of?" Annouse interupted.

The sergaent rolled her shoulder and straightened her back. In charge."3 adults.".

"Hold up now. There's-"

"3." Cassie reiterated, ignoring her friend.

"Agreed. Any more would be too hard on Mother." Annouse sniffed. "Her time left with us is _valuable_."

Hint taken. Cassie peeled off a glove and removed a gold ring with a small opal stone. That had been her little gift to herself for moving up to sergaent. No big. Next came the thick herringbone weave bracelet, something she hadn't taken off since it had been gifted to her. Sorry, Aunt Vera. Jewelry was nice and all but maybe she would understand when it meant her only child's life. Cass gave both pieces to her host. Annouse smiled and turned her eyes to Jacqui. After a moment's surprise, her friend plucked off her gold hoop earrings and handed them over,too. You could count on Briggs, none of that cheap shit.

Small bounty though it was, gold was extremely rare in Netherrealm. That family would be living it up Bill Gates style now. "Bring your people here. I'll get Mother ready."

She nodded. Duty. Responsibility.

* * *

The young sergeant marched across the marketplace, looking for her soldiers. Behind her, Jacqui jogged to keep up. "At least tell me what the fresh hell is going on here? Cass? " At the sight of Kuai, prowling where they'd left him, she threw her arms up in frustration. "Talk to her because I can't get through. This is bullshit."

Like he had any sway with her. "What is going on, Jacs, you are escorting Beavis & Butthead home. You have to get to mom and deliver a message. K?"

"But why? What the hell happened to recon-"

Kaui was staring at Cass, watching the exchange, but she refused to include him. Homegirl deserved answer but she didn't want her to panic, either. "All you need to know is something's not right. I need you to get to the general, and only the general, and tell her 'scout's honor'." 'Scout's honor' was a private joke with mom, their little code for 'I can't trust any one but you'. Sonya would get that this meant deep shit. "You're the only person I can trust to handle business, Briggs."

"Wait, so leave you here, shit knows how long, with no provisions and maybe 1 weapon? Nu uh" Jacqui shook her head, ponytail of braids swinging angrily. " No, I stay with you. Takeda can do whatever has to-"

Loyalty like that was what made this girl her bestie. Still...at times like this, it was damned nuisance. "Takeda follows orders when it suits. " Usually. Mostly never. "He's got a friggin hero complex and he'll try to arm up and get back here on his own. Jin will blab to whoever he gets to first, possibly the person who set this up. We don't know who in the foodchain did us dirty." Cass sighed. Pride be damned. " And the truth is, I need the grandmaster here." When her friend started to protest, she cut her off. "In a fight, he's better than all of us combined."

"You could not compel me to leave Netherrealm, Miss Briggs. I am honor bound to stay and protect Cassandra." He said it to Jacqui but he was staring at her. What's with the staring? Like she was going to argue.

She just resisted the urge to make a face that said what she thought of his honor. No sense being petty now that she was depending on him.

* * *

"I don't see why-" Takeda started arguing again.

"Because shut up." Jacqui snapped, saving Cass from having to go through it all again. The younger woman shoved her boyfriend into the wavering portal of light energy with gusto. "Go!" She ordered Jin.

"Not milita-" his words were cut off with a shove. The two woman exchanged a meaningful look.

"Be careful, ok, Blondie?"

Cass nodded to her friend. "Counting on you, Briggs." And then she was gone, having stepped back into the walkway between realms. Crackling blue waves filtered over the the portal and it was sealed, as bright and violent as it had opened.

Tension held her shoulders stiff; behind her the little granny woman hacked and wheezed. Kuai knelt on her left with one gnarled hand held in both of his. Opposite to him, Annouse sat, smoothing damp strands of wispy hair from her mother's face.

"Our thanks, brave one." he soothed the elderly rifter. Nice gesture and Cass didn't have the heart to tell him she was deaf as a doorknob.

Annouse glared Kuai's way and then turned back to Cassie. Still not feeling him, apparently. "You must leave quickly. Strangers in the village and energy disruptions will not go unnoticed long."

"Thanks, Annouse. We'll get out of here and find a place to take cover for the night." Which was going to suck. She wasn't going to be tense around the grandmaster, not like before, but it was still gonna be awkward stuck together alone. Plus it was highly unlikely she'd be able to rest, even with standard 'taking turns on look out while the other sleeps' thing. Too much was going on in her mind.

"Go east," Annouse swept her arm out, indicating the direction away from the market. "That old grain barn his clan was using sits empty now. You'll be well hidden for a few hours."

Ok, hold. The. Fuck. Up. Liang beat her to it. "My clan? In this area?"

Eyes rolling as if he was stupid, "Yes, the blue clad warriors. They wore your same emblem. Before harvest, they came through many times. Moving boxes, great, massive crates."

"Of what?" Cass squeaked.

"None of us knew or wanted to know. But they were marked, girl, with the symbol of your tribe." a long brown finger pointed sternly at the American flag where it was embroidered onto the sergeant's uniform's shoulder. "I saw that same marking at least a dozen times over the season. You must leave now. Mother has to sleep."

* * *

Silenced loomed between the two as they walked; Cass was buried in her own mind and likely Kuai was sorting this out, too. From what she could piece together, the Lin Kuei were moving American equipment, maybe the alleged nukes that started this whole romp. Granted, a whole lot of info was still eluding her but, going off what she had, Sub Zero's clan was the liaison for the Black Dragons. Which took this to a whole nother level of fuckery.

Why, though? And Liang? She actually felt ...bad for him. It would mean he was betrayed by his own family and very likely sent to be killed with Special Forces. "Was there any ..y'know, like indication..." Shit I don't wanna talk about for 500, Alex.

Kuai made a hmm noise and kept his gaze focused ahead. "That members of my family were courting alliances in Netherrealm? That a faction of my own people might arrange for my murder? No, Cassandra. Nothing has prepared me for this." Not knowing what to say, Cass stayed silent. After a few moments, he offered , "Perhaps the fault is mine. After Shinnok's defeat, I have not concerned myself with leading as I should have. Much of my time has been spent in isolation." Now he stood still, looking at her.

Because of what happened? He didn't only ghost on her, he had left everything? Great time to bring _that_ up, too.

All this stupid fucking intrigue and unspoken motive shit had officially gotten old. She stalked away. Later, they'd talk. Right now, they had to find cover for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Soft light from the flames of their small campfire danced along the walls of the ramshackle building. Home sweet dirt floor home. After finding the abandoned storehouse, both had wordlessly fallen into training protocol; Kuai gathering wood and securing the perimeter, she rationing out provisions and water like there was a Girl Scout badge on the line . For lack of Netflix or anything to say, both were staring at the fire. Night brought a chill into dilapidated building but Cass pushed it out of her mind. Cold didn't make the top 10 of her worries right now.

It was Kuai who finally broke the comfortable silence. "Rest, Cassandra. Your mother is a fiercesome warrior. I have every faith in her ability to find us."

Another of the general's fanboys. Sigh. Eyes locked on the fire, "Dad will be here, too. He's no slouch at the rescue game."

"Your father is a jackass. But I concede that he has his strengths."

Choking back a laugh brought it out as a snort. Where was the lie though? "The jokes are his way of dealing with things." Sorry, Dad, best I can do.

"We should leave at sun up. It will make us harder to find but we are not safe staying here too long."

No argument there. "The forests are probably patrolled." Because duh, villagers were freaked over the Imperial Army dropping in. "But just two of us, should be able to travel undetected." In theory.

"Try to rest. I will keep watch for awhile." Kuai sounded.. Tired?

"I'll do first watch, you sleep." From his voice, dude probably needed shut eye worse than her right now. When he started to object, she shook her head. " No backtalk, muscles. I need you strong." Yes, she could hold her own in a fight but Cass wasn't kidding herself on her skill versus The Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.

"Cassandra, I…." She glanced up to see him also staring at their fire, brow furrowed. The warrior was… struggling with something. The fuck? "I give you my vow: no matter what, I will protect you. With my dying breath."

Oh. Um. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, right?" Getting into dangerous territory here. "Kuai..when, y'know,..this is over, I think..." Ugh, stammering like a dork over here. "We should probably ..talk."

"Agreed. There is much that needs to be discussed when our situation is not so precarious."

Anyway….Cass tucked her chin to her knees and compressed herself tighter.

"You are cold." he stated simply. Kinda, yea. But it wasn't too bad. Definitely went through worse in training. "Come here, we will share body heat." His tall body lie back and stretched out against the ground.

Well….it wasn't like they were breaking new ground. And she hadn't filled her quota of bad life choices for the day. Tucking herself against Kuai, little spoon style, it was definitely warmer. Might even be able to nap like this, head pillowed on his bicep.

One more for the quota. " Kuai". He didn't answer but settled his arm over her waist. "The thing with your clan? Was it about me?" Please say no.

A soft brush of lips over her ear and a barely audible, "Yes."

* * *

Cass fought her way from the warm, sleepy haze. Heavy legs were tangled with her own and the feeling of a hand loosely holding her boob immediately registered. But it was outside where the faintest sound of steps in the foliage jolted her awake like a 4 am car alarm. Shiiiit.

The palm against her breast shot up to press over her mouth. "Cassandra, we are not alone." Kuai whispered.


End file.
